More than 211,000 Filipinos opened LANDBANK and Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank) accounts in about a month without having to present or upload a physical government-issued ID, offering an early indication of how the National ID could reduce one of the longstanding barriers to entering the formal financial system.
LANDBANK said the accounts were opened after it and OFBank introduced National ID-enabled digital onboarding in July 2026. Customers can open accounts through the banks’ mobile apps or digital onboarding platforms, with their identities verified in real time against Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) records.
The milestone comes as the government increasingly positions the National ID not simply as another identification card, but as infrastructure that can be used to authenticate Filipinos across financial services.
From presenting an ID to verifying an identity
LANDBANK, OFBank, the PSA and the Department of Information and Communications Technology formalized their use of the National ID Authentication Services (NIDAS) during a signing ceremony on August 14.
Under the system, National ID authentication serves as the primary method of proving a customer’s identity across the banks’ onboarding platforms. This removes the need to photograph or upload another government-issued ID during account opening.
The distinction could be important for financial inclusion.
The PSA has been encouraging financial institutions to use National ID authentication. Its authentication services can use tools including facial recognition and fingerprint verification, allowing institutions to confirm a customer’s identity using registered information rather than relying solely on a physical document.
The PSA has been pushing financial institutions toward this model. Its authentication services can use tools including facial recognition and fingerprint verification, allowing institutions to confirm a customer’s identity using registered information rather than relying solely on a physical document.
National ID is moving deeper into financial services
LANDBANK and OFBank are not the only financial institutions integrating the system.
The PSA said last year that Asia United Bank’s HelloMoney had onboarded 169,847 Filipinos through National ID authentication between September 2024 and April 2025. It also said around 56% of GCash users opening accounts at the time had used the National ID for verification.
More banks have since joined the push. Philippine National Bank integrated with the National ID system earlier this year, while the PSA has also worked with Bank of the Philippine Islands on initiatives allowing eligible customers to open certain accounts without uploading a photo of their National ID.
BSP-supervised financial institutions are already required to accept the card, paper and digital versions of the National ID as valid and sufficient proof of identity. They are also encouraged to integrate directly with the National ID’s authentication services.
For LANDBANK and OFBank, reaching more than 211,000 digitally verified accounts within the first month provides an early test of what that integration can accomplish at scale.
If adoption spreads across more banks and fintech platforms, the National ID’s most important contribution to finance may ultimately be less about giving Filipinos another card to carry and more about making proving who they are significantly easier.
